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In this week’s issue:
🫠 ‘Brain rot’ is the word of the year
👩🏻💻 The biggest YouTube trends in 2024
🖼️ Can an AI-generated image be copyrighted?
✂️ The future of the online harms bill
SOCIAL MEDIA
“Brain rot” is the word of the year
You know that feeling of defeat or ashamed boredom that comes when you’re scrolling mindlessly online, and you’re viewing scores of sloppy, AI-generated memes, unhinged TikTok livestreams or posts of strangers fighting on Facebook? There’s a word for that feeling: brain rot.
The Oxford University Press dubbed the evocative phrase the word of the year, noting it “gained new prominence in 2024.” Oxford defines brain rot as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.” “Brain rot” was chosen by a combination of public vote and language analysis by Oxford lexicographers. It beat five other finalists: demure, slop, dynamic pricing, romantasy and lore.
COPYRIGHT
Do AI-generated images deserve copyright protection?
The photo on the left was used to create the image on the right using an AI image generator.Supplied
In Canada’s copyright database, you’ll find an image of a blurry, Van Gogh-esque sunset titled Suryast. It’s registered under two authors, Ankit Sahni and the RAGHAV Artificial Intelligence Painting App, the program Sahni used to create the image. For some, this is a problem. A legal clinic at the University of Ottawa is trying to expunge the registration, arguing that only humans can be authors. As Joe Castaldo reports, the rise of generative AI has brought up many thorny questions, including if AI-generated content deserves copyright protection and how much human involvement is required. These very questions are what inspired Sahni, who is an IP lawyer, to create Suryast in the first place, launching a consequential debate about copyright in the age of generative AI.
POLITICS
Online harms bill to be split
Back in September, the federal government introduced the online harms bill, a law that aimed to combat online child abuse and hate crime by making changes to Canada’s criminal code and putting the onus on platforms to remove harmful content. The legislation faced criticism from Conservatives who said the bill amounted to censorship, and it’s been held up by filibustering in the House of Commons.
Now, in an effort to pass the bill before a potential federal election, the Liberals are splitting the bill: the first bill would focus on kids’ safety and the second bill would include the new online hate-crime penalties. Child safety advocates, including Carol Todd, the mother of Amanda Todd who died by suicide after falling victim to cyberbullying, have been calling on MPs to end the filibuster and pass the bill. But even though the bill is now split from the contentious hate-crime measures, the Conservatives have indicated they’re still unlikely to support the legislation.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Google’s new AI agent outperforms traditional weather forecasts
DeepMind, Google’s AI offshoot, claims its new tool GenCast can outperform the world’s best weather predicting model, devising 15-day forecasts faster and more accurately. In a new study published in Nature, DeepMind reports that in a comparative test between GenCast and the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts – the premier service that 35 countries around the world rely on to produce their own forecasts – the AI agent was more accurate 97.2 per cent of the time. Accurately predicting the weather could have major benefits: A University of Arizona study from last year found that making forecasts 50 per cent more accurate would save 2,200 lives a year in the U.S., primarily from extreme heat or cold.
What else we’re reading this week:
Companies in Mexico embrace AI to resurrect the dead (Rest of World)
Stop using generative AI as a search engine (The Verge)
Trans Americans are turning to TikTok to crowdfund their relocations (Wired)
Adult Money
BOOKS
Supplied
Filterworld by Kyle Chayka, $37.99
This week the Globe’s art section rounded up the most giftable books for everyone on your list, including “the extremely online” person. One of the books they suggest is Filterworld by Kyle Chayka, a New Yorker staff writer who reports on internet culture and technology. In this non-fiction book, he explores how algorithmic feeds have homogenized how we create and consume culture, making it less interesting and fulfilling. Sure, it’s not the lightest read to curl up with next to the fire, but it’ll make you think deeply about how we spend our time online.
Culture radar
STREAMING
Sabrina Carpenter performs in September.Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Every December, online platforms release their year-in-review recaps, listing the top artists, influencers and trends of the previous 12 months. YouTube did something a bit differently this year. Rather than listing the most-watched videos of the year, it identified the top trending topics, based on an analysis including the number of views, uploads and activity by creators. This new methodology reflects the nature of YouTube: People aren’t just watching their favourite creators on the platform. They’re making their own reaction videos, posting commentary and making mash-ups, becoming content creators themselves in the process.
This year’s top trending topics were a mix of video games, niche animated series and big news stories. The only celebrity to make the list was pop star Sabrina Carpenter, who had a breakthrough with her single Espresso, and there was only one reference to Hollywood – blockbuster Deadpool & Wolverine. This shows how YouTube nurtures entertainment outside of the pop culture mainstream, but also how traditional media is becoming less influential in our online spaces.